Bandanna woman: Oh yeah. Saved you… for a SNACK.
Man with Eyepatch: Hey, come on…
Pavel, now using chopsticks for his ramen, looks up at his mother after a moment’s quiet thought.
Pavel: Can’t you just take me home after today? I thought I was healthy already…
Vanna: You ARE healthy. I made sure of that. This is all just a dumb formality. Just a couple more months at the Aquifer, and those Plume Church folks will stop bothering us. Then we can have a bunch of fun days, not just one.
Vanna raises her glass, full of a sunny yellow liquid with clinking ice cubes and a slice of lemon tucked onto the rim. Pavel raises his own in reply and smiles tentatively.
Pavel: Yeah. A bunch.
The chef who had served Pavel his ramen wanders over towards them a moment later, holding a pepper grinder and looking somewhat embarrassed. Vanna looks up, surprised, when he says her name.
Chef: Professor Morena-- Before I forget, my mother sends her regards. You treated her infected foot a few weeks back.
Vanna: Hmm? Ah! You’re Shakti’s son, are you? How is she?
In the background, the music is replaced by a steady beeping, still quiet but insistent upon getting the attention of its listeners. The chef still looks a little embarrassed, but only in the way that people are when trying to earnestly express how grateful they are for what another has done for them.
Chef: All healed up. Your medicine is a marvel. No need to pay tonight-- You and Pavel eat for free.
Vanna: That’s… That’s very kind of--
It is now that the beeping becomes impossible to ignore, the chef glances back towards his kitchen, in search of the source.
Chef: What the hell is that BEEPING? I don’t cook with any timers on…
Pavel munches peacefully on his food and Vanna points to the radio, tucked back on a shelf above the oven.
Vanna: Oh. It’s your RADIO. Maybe it’s a storm alert.
